Life sentence for racist who killed student

A man was jailed for life yesterday for the racist murder of an Indian naval officer he slashed in the neck as he walked to a restaurant with friends.

Kunal Mohanty, 30, was in Glasgow to sit his captain's exams when he was knifed in the unprovoked attack by Christopher Miller.

Following the assault on the married officer, a student at the city's Nautical College, unemployed assailant was captured "celebrating" the crime on CCTV and told a friend how he had "done a Paki".

At the High Court in Glasgow, 25-year-old Mr Miller was found guilty of racially-motivated murder and attempting to pervert the course of justice by burning clothes after the attack in Bedford Lane on March 27.

Mr Miller was also found guilty of a racially-motivated breach of the peace at Sizzlers takeaway in Gorbals Street the same night, where he threatened staff and squirted them with food sauce.

Sentencing him to a minimum of 18 years in jail, Judge John Beckett QC described the crime as "as incomprehensible as it is evil".

Mr Mohanty was murdered as he headed to Mr T's fast food restaurant in Eglinton Street at around 9.30 p.m.

He was approached by a group including Mr Miller who asked for a cigarette.

The victim's friends told the trial that moments later they saw him pouring with blood.

A doctor who gave evidence said the seven-inch knife wound was among the worst he had dealt with in 29 years' practice. Mr Mohanty's wife was expecting his child at the time of his death.

Mr Miller, who has eight previous convictions for assault, robbery and carrying an offensive weapon, claimed the seaman died when an attempted mugging went wrong and denied targeting him because of his race. He told police in a taped interview: "It was just a bit of robbery."